


Bluer Than Velvet Was The Night

by seasideharry



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: (maybe a bit), Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternative Universe - Vampire, Blood, M/M, Vampires, i will probably describe harry's clothes to the point where it's unnecessary, there will be a lot of mention of red roses (harry loves them), there will be blood (it's a vampire fic so), this is nothing like twilight just FYI, warning: blood
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-09
Updated: 2015-01-07
Packaged: 2018-02-28 20:01:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2745218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seasideharry/pseuds/seasideharry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Danger, danger. Louis isn't sure why, but all he can think about is danger. His heart beats are steady and he doesn't dare to move. The truth isn't pleasant now that he's aware of it and he's counting down from twenty silently in his head. Harry snaps when he's down on nine, puts his glass of scotch down on the hardwood that encircles the pool table. Harry catches Louis closing his eyes and when he opens them again, he's met by Harry's, barely a meter away. They are soft but full of secrets that Louis dreads. </p><p>"Are you afraid of me?" Harry asks and takes a step closer and takes a hold of Louis' wrist. His touch is electric. All dangerous but arousing at the same time. </p><p>"No." Louis says and it comes out merely as a whisper. Then Louis feels a pair of soft but cold lips pressed against his neck and he closes his eyes for a second time. </p><p>"I trust you, Harry."</p><p>(Or the one where Louis has to figure Harry Styles out against his will. He finds out more than he should and it will put them both in danger.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first chapter of an upcoming Vampire!AU. I take a lot of inspiration from the Netflix series Hemlock Grove (go watch it, it's so good) in which Harry Styles is the Roman Godfrey in this fic and Louis Tomlinson is more or less the Peter Romancek (except that he isn't supernatural). Hope you'll enjoy it and I'll try to update as often as I can!

Harry Styles isn't very ordinary in any way.

If you asked someone, anyone, about him, the person would say something in style of the following lines: Who is Harry Styles? Well, who the fuck knows? All I know is that he's some kind of brat that dresses like if the school were some kind of runway and also he drinks a hell lot of scotch and thinks he is better than anyone just because he has money and his socks are probably worth more than anyone's house (well, that is to exaggerate). Also I wouldn't be surprised if he was gay or something even though he could take twelve girls home if he wanted to (which he probably also has done). Have you seen his clothes? His hair? How he walks? He's weird.

If Harry Styles would happen to hear this particular conversation about him, he would probably say that they were very right. He knows what people thinks about him. But does he care? Not really.

-

The first thing Louis Tomlinson learns about when he moves to Manchester and starts in a new school is that whatever new place he'll go, he will be just as lost. He's lost as he wanders around in the corridors, looking for the right classroom. No one gave him clear directions. He decides to ask the first person he sees about it.

So instead he walks around and looks for someone that can help him. Luckily, he sees someone by the lockers. A tall boy with legs like a giraffe and his clothes are all black from head to toe. His delicious mop of long chocolate brown curls swings in the air as he turns his head to look at Louis. And oh. He is pretty.

"Yeah..?" He asks with a deep, raspy voice when Louis has been standing there for a bit, just staring. He snaps out of it and almost shakes his head to wake himself from the trance.

"Oh, right. Uhm I wonder where classroom... Uhm let me look.. Classrom A56 is?" He asks. Stupid, stupid Louis. He wants to slap himself in the face with his hardcover book he's currently holding like a nervous wreck in his hands.

The boy starts to grin complacently at Louis and points behind him. "Right there."

Louis turns around and looks at where the boy had pointed at. There is a door with A56 big and clearly written on it. God.

He laughs nervously and nods. "Right, thank you." He says and starts to walk there.

The boys shuts his locker and walks past Louis in the exact same direction. He looks at Louis over his shoulder with a smug grin playing on his face before walking into the classroom. Louis has embarrassed himself the first thing he did on his first day, great. He walks into the classrom after he has knocked on it two times and about twenty pair of eyes is directed at him as he walks in. There sits the boy in the very back and he doesn't really want to look at him.

"Uhm, hello I am Louis Tomlinson." Oh god how he wished he had moved here as the term started. It's not very funny to come there, new, in the middle of one.

After he has held a short presentation about himself and the teacher has welcomed him, he has to choose a seat. It's all about being quick. So he scans the classroom and the people at the benches quickly. There is a empty seat beside a blonde fella who has a big smirk full of white teeth. He decides in about 0.002 seconds that that's the seat he's gonna choose.

When he has sat down. The boy stretches his hand out for Louis to shake. So he does.

"I am Niall." He says and he's clearly not English. "I am Irish." He adds as if he could read Louis' thoughts.

"Nice to meet you Niall." He replies with a smile.

"Did you get lost? I mean you came a bit late, but it's okay, you are new. It's easy to get lost when you are new." He says all at once and Louis has to blink a few times before he has prossesed all of the words he said in one second or something.

"Well." He says and points subtly at the boy a few seats behind them. "The curly fella there actually helped me."

Niall almost throws himself over Louis to take his pointing finger down. Also he shushed him really loud. Obviously he didn't want Louis to make a scene about it, which he himself kind of did very good on his own.

"Did you talk to Harry Styles?!" He says, or more like whispers. Louis frowns in confusion.

"What. Well, I wouldn't exactly consider it talking but I said a few words and he said about two in return yes."

Niall throws a hand up to his face to stop himself from gaping. Which makes Louis almost laugh at him. Are all of the people in this school weird?

"You are so brave. But you're also very dumb." Niall says and nods at his own words.

"I don't understand." Louis says and raises his eyebrows.

Niall pulls him down by the collar of his shirt to get his mouth close to Louis' ear.

"If there's anything I have learned from my first year in this school, then it is to never ever talk to Harry Styles. That boy is dangerous. I don't know why, but he just is." Niall whispers.

Louis sneaks a glance back to where Harry sits. He has his chair leaned back against the wall and his head thrown back a bit and he's listening to what the teacher is saying. He has his legs crossed. Beside him is another guy. One with hair black as licorice and he is dressed in a leather jacket. Both of them are very hot but yeah, they seem kind of dangerous judging by how far off the other around them are sitting when he thinks about it. He's just curious about why everyone fears them.

-

Louis becomes friends with Niall on the spot. There are at least two reasons Louis was fast to accept Niall as his friend at such speed. Number 1; Louis is in need of a friend. Number 2; Niall is funny as hell.

Niall invites Louis home already after Louis' first day. Louis would have thought that Niall was going to try to seduce him and take him on his bed. But Louis does know better. He knows a lot about Niall already and one of those things are that he's very, very into girls, and very straight in that matter. And Louis didn't even have to ask or find out the hard way. Niall himself kind of just threw it out there that "Jeez Louis, do you know how many hot girls there are in this school, you and I my friend, are in heaven." And then Louis had to throw out that "No I haven't noticed, because of two reasons and those reasons are that one; I have only been here one day and two; I am in fact gay."

So there's that and Niall is totally okay with it and didn't cancel the invite to his house or anything. Louis is very thankful because he actually got nervous for a second there that he would lose his chance of his probably only friend in this town.

But then he is in Niall's house and he understands how alike they are. Louis isn't rich or anything and neither is Niall it turns out, which everyone is in their school, more or less. Both of them are defenitely less. He doesn't live in a big house or anything and both the outside and the inside reminds Louis of his own house. No one is home except of Niall so he takes it as invation to play loud music and eat as many biscuit as he wants to. Louis just laughs and eats a bunch too.

Then he show Louis his room. It's a typical boy-ish room with blue walls, giving the room a bit of darkness on its own. And then there is the fact that Niall's lamp is half broken as well.

"I'm going to fix it soon. I promise." Niall says and refers to the dim light. Louis shrugs. It's okay.

He takes a look around while Niall puts on some music. His bed is unmade with dirty sheets, Louis could have kind of guessed it before even looking at it. They're not that dirty though. Louis can sit on his bed without being disgusted. Music starts to fill the room and Louis doesn't recognize the voice.

"They're swedish." Niall says and throws the CD cover at Louis. It lands in his lap and he turns it around to read what band it is. On the cover is an umbrella and a text reading 'Frantic Sunday' with weird A's. On the back is the titles to the four only songs that is on the album. No wonder Louis didn't recognize the music.

"Didn't know you were this hipster." Louis says and puts the CD cover away.

"I'm only hipster when it comes to music I guess. I like weird music. It's nice." Niall shrugs and sits down in the green armchair standing in one of the corners of the room.

Louis becomes silent for a while, inspecting the rest of the room that he hasn't seen yet.

"So. Anything you wanna ask me. Something about me I mean. That you wanna know?" Niall asks and Louis looks at him where he sits with one leg thrown over the other. He's weird, but Louis likes him.

Louis thinks for a bit. He already knows much about Niall, more than he even thought you could know about someone from the first day meeting them. "No- yes. Tell me more about that Styles guy."

Niall sighs and stands up. "But that isn't about me."

Louis nods and taps nervously with his finger on his right knee. "I know. I am just curious."

Niall sits down beside Louis on the bed and takes a deep breath. "I don't know anything really. No one knows anything about him besides that guy Zayn." He says and makes a disgusted face over the name Zayn.

"You have to know something?" Louis asks. "He's in your damn class."

Niall scratches the back of his neck. "Well. I do know where he lives. He has a big ass house. It's like a weird, old.. castle or summat, i don't know."

"So he's rich?"

Niall laughs. "Are you kidding me? He's the richest kid in this town! Just take a look at the bloke's clothes."

Louis frowns. Yeah, he did actually look very rich, like, only the shoes looked like they at least costed 800£.

"Alright, tell me more, everything you know." Louis asks. He doesn't even know why he's so curious about this kid. He guess he's just curious over why everyone seems so afraid of him.

"Uhm.. There are rumours that he has murdered people."

Louis shoots a glance at Niall. "What?"

"Yeah, but the police haven't found any evidence so like I said, it's just rumours."

"But why do people suspect just him?"

Niall shrugs. "I don't know he just looks like the type, dangerous and all that."

Louis laughs. "That is some prejudices right there."

Niall shrugs for the second time. "Maybe, but I'll tell you what. The kid is bloody weird. Just the fact that no one knows anything about him is weird."

Louis nods in agreement. "Yeah, I get your point. So.. Is that Zayn bloke his only friend?"

"Well, yes and no. He's the only guy he's being seen hanging out with. But there is another guy, Liam Payne, he's in the class beside ours. They were supposedly like brothers. They hung out all the time and stuff but something happened I guess, and now they haven't been seen together for at least a year."

"Weird." Louis says and wrinkles his nose.

"That's all I know, I'm afraid. I think you have to find out more about him yourself." Niall says and pats Louis' shoulder and stands up. "You up for some FIFA?"

-

Louis finds himself enjoying school, believe it or not. He usually never found friends because he didn't want to get too attached. He has moved a lot during his years, which also means that he has gone to a lot of different schools.

This time he had the aim to do as he always had done. Keep himself to himself, smile and be polite but don't get too attached. It usually worked for him, it's easy to be invisible if you want to, ask him, he's a professional. Except this time, he didn't go to the friend. The friend threw himself at him, grabbed his arm and said "Hey I'm Niall!" in his face, with a bright smile that could replace the sun and asked Louis if they could be friends without actually saying the words.

So Louis is actually quite positive about this new school. The two first weeks consits of taking a look round Manchester, hanging out with Niall and sometimes, just sometimes wonder what's up with that Harry kid. He hasn't heard much about him and he hasn't seen him that much either. He's absent from school a lot. It's like if he wakes up in the morning and decides if he feels like if it's good enough of a day to go to school or if he's rather like "nah, let's stay home, doing nothing". Because honestly, what is he doing when he's not in school? Zayn's in school much more than he is. Sometimes both are absent but it never happens that Harry's there without Zayn.

Louis can just wonder who is he?

-

The next week is apparently the week someone decided that Louis had to face it and find out. He was in English class. Harry wasn't there, which Louis only could shrug about because even though he was very curious he also knew it wasn't any of his business and maybe it was better to just stay away and stop wonder so much.

But then someone, their teacher, decided that Louis' next few weeks would be filled with just what he was trying not to think about. Harry Styles.

"Okay class." Mr. Levitt says, well almost shouts to get the class quiet. It takes a minute before it's silent in the classroom an Mr. Levitt sits on the desk with his arms crossed and an utterly unamused look on his face. Until people starts paying attention. He nods and stands up.

"Thank you, thank you." He says and starts writing on the board. He's that kind of teacher that wouldn't take no for an answer. "So, our new project might seem childish to many of you and I am sure that you have already done this before." He says. 'Description of someone else' he writes and underlines it. Some people groans and others has frowns on their faces.

"BUT. There is a but." Mr. Levitt says and leans against his desk with both of his hands. "This time you are going to go much deeper. I want to know everything about your partner but not too much."

"What?" Someone says because yeah, it's not logical.

"I want to know everything interesting. I want to know everything worth to know. Not lame stuff like 'Stephanie's favourite colour is green and she likes ponys' No, nothing like that, we're not in third grade. You know how to write essays. Let this be a essay. Write a book if you need, and have got the time, which you won't if you aren't a wizard. Do you get my point? Give me everyhting! Squeeze it out!"

"How long time will we have?" a kid named David asks.

"A month. Four weeks." Mr. Levitt answers annd people gasp.

"No way we are going to make it in four weeks! We will practically have to live in each other's laps!" Niall complains beside Louis.

"Then do." Levitt smiles. "Alright now I'm going to announce who's going to work with who."

Mr. Levitt starts reading from a list. Niall gets a girl.

"Hottest girl in this class." He whispers to Louis and gives him a eyebrow wiggle. Louis smiles back. He doesn't really care. He's just curious why Mr. Levitt never says his name, and also why he doesn't say Harry's name. It's like he can predict what he doesn't want to be reality. But then Levitt gets to the last two names on the list..

"Louis Tomlinson annd Harry Styles..." And everyone turns their head around and look at Louis like he just got a free passage to hell. His heart is beating fast and he's starting to sweat.

Niall looks at him with his mouth open. Dumb, dumb people. Why are they looking at him like this?

Louis isn't sure if he's happy that Harry isn't there. But then the door swings open and, of course, Harry and Zayn stomp in.

"Ah! There you are guys!" Mr. Levitt says as he sees them and then he explains to them what he just told the class and then he points at Zayn's partner and then at Louis and Harry is looking straight at him, nodding at the teacher and then he walks over to Louis. Louis wants to sink through the floor more and more as Harry comes closer and closer, shiny black boots clicking against the floor as he swings his hips in confidence. Niall isn't there any longer, he's sitting by his partner which means Harry will sit down beside Louis.

Louis can smell his cologne as he's sitting down beside Louis. He smells mystic but tempting. He wears a wine red button up made of silk or something. Only that little detail tells Louis that this is going to be really hard.

"So, lost boy." Harry says and wakes Louis out of his thoughts.

"It's Louis.."

Harry looks at him with a blank face. "I know."

"Alright, Harry. Uhm.. Where do we start?" Louis asks carefully, not even sure if he's allowed to say his name. This boy is supposedly very dangeruous, might even be a murderer.

"Wherever you wanna start." Harry replies and swings his legs on top of the desk in fron of him.

"Plese don't make this hard for me." Louis mumbles and Harry smiles the smallest smile.

"Don't make this hard for _me_."

Louis nods and takes his pen between his fingers. His hand is shaking and Harry is definitely looking down at it and sees, but to Louis' relief he doesn't mention it.

It becomes quite for a while. Louis scratches his neck and swallows because he doesn't know what to say. Harry just looks at him and when Louis looks back he doesn't turn his head. Instead he looks straight into Louis' eyes. Louis looks down at his hands again. This is the weirdest situation he has ever been in.

Another minute passes and Harry is still looking at Louis, checking him out, whatever, with swiftly eye moves. Louis is just about to tell him to stop when the bell rings and Harry is up on his feet and is already walking out of the classroom.

"Hey! We need to come up with something!" He shouts after Harry. Harry stops and turns around, letting people disperse around him in attempt not to touch him. He gives him a smirk that makes Louis feel so small. And then he takes the last few steps out of the classroom and disappears.

Louis sits still for a while, frowning. Anger is pumping in his veins. What the fuck. Then he sighs and gathers his books and shuffles out of the classroom. A hand is grabbing his arm and it only takes a blonde mop of hair to know that it's Niall that is pulling him aside.

"Holy shit." He whispers, looking around to makes sure people are out of reach. "You are in some serious danger, I hope you know."

Louis rolls his eyes and pulls his arm out of Niall's grip. "Well, I didn't choose this. " He says. "I guess I will at least find out what's up with him."

Niall looks sceptical. "Don't be so sure about that. It's going to be hard."

Louis leans closer to Niall. "But how hard is too hard? I am though and I will prove it. Trust me." He says and judging by the look on Niall's face he's about to burst out into laughter.

"Shut up Niall."

"I am quiet." He insists with a proud look on his face but still a foolish smile.

"Just- Let's go to mine."

-

Louis and Niall sits in Louis' room and listens to some crap background music. Louis sighs.

"It will be bloody problematic." He says and Niall nods in agreement.

"Yeah I can picture it being problematic to get along with someone that might murder you."

"He won't murder me." Louis laughs.

"But how do you know."

"I don't know. But why would he murder me?"

Niall sits down on the bed beside Louis. "Because you're itruding his privacy. Maybe he doesn't want people knowing about him."

Louis nods. "Yeah, you've got a point. So if he ends up killing me. Which I will make sure he won't. Then at least you know who it was."

Niall points at Louis like if he has got an idea. "You are a bloody genius! We could actually reveal him. We could put him into place and know if he is a murderer or not."

Louis looks at Niall as if he's mental. "I won't sacrifice myself if that's what you think." He says followed by a raw laugh. Niall rolls his eyes.

"That's not what I meant."

"Then what?" Louis is nothing but sceptical and he hopes Niall hears it.

"I want you to seduce him." He says and Louis is about to laugh again. "Make him trust you! Make him believe that you are friends- Make him tell you things he wouldn't tell himself!" Niall says all at once.

Louis raises his eyebrows. "Wow Niall. I didn't think you were that passionate about this."

"I am. You have no idea how interested I have always been in this case. People told me to let it go. But that's why we are alike. We didn't listen. And now we finally has the chance to know more."

"I will get a big fat F on this assignment, do you realize?" Louis sighs and puts his face in his hands.

"Nope. What you will get is a insight in Harry Styles' life and house and a fucking big fat A."

"House?" Louis says and looks at Niall through his fingers.

"You didn't think you would fix it in those short ass classes we have three times per week? Did you?"

"Well, I didn't think I would go to his house. He wouldn't even let me into his house for God's sake!"

"I know how he will let you."

Louis drops his hands and lifts and eyebrow. "How?"

Niall looks smug. "You know what's the worst thing to people like Harry?"

Louis shakes his head. "No, tell me."

"To be seen as a coward." He says. Louis gets it.

"You want me to challenge him, don't you?"

Niall closes his eyes and nods. "Exactly."

-

Louis can admit that he's nervous. His heart is beating hard in his chest and it's just a matter of time before Harry walks in through that door, he thinks. It's almost like he's counting. Ten, nine, eight, seven- and then the door swings open. In comes Harry Styles, four minutes late. Four minutes for Louis to almost back out. He doesn't want to do this. He doesn't want to end up in Harry's house. He doesn't want to challenge him and maybe, who knows, get killed because of it.

But he's there in the classroom and there is no backing out because Harry's walking towards him. He's wearing a grey v-neck under a blue bomber jacket. On his feet are a pair of brown boots with the strings lazily knitted. His hair is wild but on purpose becaue there's gel in it.

Shit, Louis thinks when he swings the chair out and sits down on it like if he ruled the world.

"Hi lost boy." He says with that deep voice that Louis wants to drown in.

"Styles." Is all Louis answers. He's nervous as never before. He can't fuck this up. He has it all in his head. Everything Niall told him to say, how to look, body language. It's all important. One step wrong and Harry could see through it. He knows it because he knows that Harry's smart.

"So, Louis. What do you want to ask me?" Harry asks and throws one leg over the other and leans his chin in his hand.

Louis decides to save the plan for the last five minutes. "Well. Let's begin with easy questions, alright?"

Harry nods. "Sure."

Louis asks him about favourite stuff and what he would do on his last day on earth and things like that. Harry actually answers every questions. If he's being honest or not is something Louis might never know but at least he gives him answer. Yeah, he might give him short and unintrested answers. But this isn't what Louis is intersted in anyway.

He gets more nervous as the time goes on. Those last five minutes comes and Louis closes his notepad in which he has taken notes.

"So I guess next time we have to talk about you then?" Harry asks.

Louis nods. This is it. "About that. I was thinking that maybe I could come home to you tomorrow maybe? It's a week until our next english lesson. I just want to make sure we have got enough time and I don't think the lesson time are enough, you know."

"Why? You already know everything about me and next time I will know everything about you." Harry says dryly. He's clearly hiding something. Something's telling Louis that what is scribbled down in his notepad is far away from being even close to enough about Harry and judging by Harry's straight face, he knows it too.

"You don't get to know someone in an hour." Louis says. "I think the best thing is to hang out in someones house. It becomes more natural because it's outside of school."

"Alright." Harry says. Louis can't believe it. "Then we can be at yours."

Oh shit. Louis hadn't even thought about that. "Well, actually we can't.. We are renovating. There's people there and too much noise." Louis says quickly. It's a lie but Harry doesn't have to find out.

"Then we can go to a café." Harry suggests. His face is still blank and without emotion. Fuck.

"I don't like cafés. Come on Harry. Why can't we be at yours? It would be the best." Louis says. He tries to sound as casual as possible.

Harry doesn't answer so Louis tries something. "Are you hiding something or..?"

Harry is fast to answer. "No!"

Louis raises his eyebrows. "Then I don't see the problem."

"There's no problem to see."

"So I guess I can come to you then?" Louis asks and starts to gather his stuff, avoiding meeting Harry's eyes.

Harry breathes hard through his nose and he shakes his head slightly for himself and then he stands up and starts to walk towards the door. Louis thinks he has fucked it all up but then Harry makes an abrubt turn and looks at Louis. There's anger in his eyes.

"Be at mine tomorrow at 2 pm." And then he disappears out the door and Louis listens to the angry steps faint out in the hallway until he can't hear them anymore. He's terrified.

-


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the second chapter, finally! I will try to update this once a week, maybe more if I have got time over :) 
> 
> Also note that in this chapter Harry might come out as dumb or not-so-smart because of his actions and how he talks to Louis. But it has nothing with him being dumb to do (he's actually smart and witty). It has to do with how he assumes that people are afraid of him and therefore don't wanna talk to him (which is true) but then suddenly Louis is there and he talks to him and criticizes his actions and stuff and well, Harry's not used to it is all. Enjoy reading!

Louis has a hard time sleeping that night. He had talked to Niall on the phone for an hour. He gave him advice, told him what to say and do. Apparently he's an expert on this, at least he claims so. Louis had sighed the last thing he did before hanging up and sliding his phone against the floor, hoping to avoid it like he wants to avoid tomorrow. Tomorrow's saturday. Tomorrow's also the day Louis is supposed to step his feet inside Harry Styles' castle. 

Niall promised Louis to walk him there and then leave him alone with the boy with the dark curls and the shining, fucking expensive boots. 

Louis sighs again (it might be for the hundreth time, it might not). He throws his head hard against his pillow and closes his eyes. 

Three minutes later, still as awake as before, he decides that sleep is for the weak and reaches for his laptop that is lying on his nightstand. The light hits him in the face and lights up the room slightly. It's too bright against the rest of the darkness and Louis has to squint his eyes a bit to get used to the light. 

He taps his password in and lowers the brightness of his laptop a bit until he can look at his screen without going blind. He opens google and with shaky fingers he types in a first name and a surname. He has no idea if he's ready for this. The evidence might lay in front of his eyes in matter of seconds. Maybe there will be pages to scroll through, telling him about crime after crime. 

The page is loading and loading and loading. Louis is ready to bang his hand down against his keyboard. But then the page is done loading and what comes up is... Nothing. Nothing comes up. 

There's just links to people's facebooks and blogs and someone named Henry Styles and someone else named Harry Stiles. 

Louis can't believe there's not a single piece of information about Harry Styles. Not even a facebook page. Not even a little blurry picture of him from four years ago. Nothing. 

He shuts his laptop with a frown, lies down in bed again and keeps frowning until his head hurts. 

 

-

Louis wakes up from his phone buzzing loudly against his wooden floor. Right, he slid it across the floor and now it's on the other side of the room, ringing in a dusty corner. He groans and rolls over too hard and far and lands on the floor with a thud. He crawls over the floor and when he reaches the phone he sees the lit up screen and the name Niall + a lot of dorky emojis. Fuck, shit he forgot. 

He picks up fast. "Hey." 

"Was about to hang up there. Thought you ditched me. How 'r ya?" Niall says with thick and cheery Mullingar accent. 

"Yeah, it's alright. 

"Glad to hear! So I hope you're ready to meet up in an hour, because you haven't forgot, 'ave ya?" 

Louis rubs his eyes with his free hand. "No I haven't forgot. Come to mine in an hour. Bye." He says and hangs up. 

One hour is plenty of time. He has time to shower, eat a nice breakfast, pick out clothes, brush his teeth properly and carefully. It's also a lot of time to think, and back out. Definitely. 

But he leaves the latter to last and does everything in order and by the time he's done brushing his teeth firmly, Niall's knocking on his door and Louis runs downstairs to open the door before his mother or any of his sisters gets there first. Niall could have been two minutes late and Louis might have concidered not to go. 

But there he is with his happy grinning mouth and his arm thrown over Louis' shoulder in no time. Alrigth, this is it, Louis thinks and gives in. He stumbles out of the house, Niall's arm still around his shoulders and he locks his door with a bit of trouble. 

"So, are you ready?" Niall asks with the exact same cheery voice he had when he called an hour ago. 

Louis makes a face that he hopes Niall doesn't see but answers nonetheless that he's excited and ready, yes.

Niall gives him a happy thumbs up and slides his arm off his shoulders. Thanks, Niall. Louis thinks. It's much easier to walk without someone's arm around your shoulder. 

"So how long of a walk is it?" Louis has to ask because he's going to be honest. He hates to walk. It's just boring. 

"You see that forest over there?" Niall asks and his finger points towards a forest thick with trees that lies a bit from Louis' house but not too long. 

"We have to walk through there. So maybe fifteen minutes." 

Louis nods. "Alright." He's not sure if he thinks that's classed as 'alright, that's not so long'. Or 'fifteen minutes? You have got to be kidding me." Maybe he's somewhere inbetween. 

Niall walks on with happy and fast steps and Louis has a hard time keeping up with him, always feeling like he's on the verge of doing what he thinks is even worse than walking; running. 

After a while they get to the forest and Niall stops walking out of nowhere. It takes Louis a few seconds to understand that Niall's not planning on walking any further. 

"You're not leaving me here? Are you? Seriously. I can't walk through a forest I've never been in." 

Niall laughs. "It's alright. The forest isn't that big, just a lot of trees. But the house is bigger so you will see it after a while. Maybe after you have walked for two minutes." 

Louis is about to say something in protest but Niall talks first. 

"I have to go actually, but just walk straight forward and I can assure you that you will find it. Remember what I told you. Big like a fucking castle or summat." *

Louis nods slowly and mutters an 'I hate you' under his breath that Niall doesn't pick up on. Before Louis can even think more about it, Niall has said his goodbye and there stands Louis alone in front of a forest that looks like it will lead him to literally nowhere. Like Narnia or something. 

He looks around to see if there are people there to diagnose him as a maniac. But to his relief there's no one to do that so he takes a breath and then he takes a step forward into the thick rows of trees. What even is on the other side? Just the phrase "other side" makes it sound absurd and unreal.

He walks straight ahead like Niall told him to do and even though it wouldn't matter if it was dark outside or not since it wouldn't make much of a difference since the forest is just trees anywhere he looks. He's still relieved that it's day outside so he at least can see where he puts his feet.

He continues to walk straight ahead, occasionally looking down at his feet to avoid tripping on the roots of the trees. He walks and walks and walks and he has no idea if he's even remotely close to where he's supposed to be. 

Just as he is about to dig for his phone in his back pocket of his tight jeans, he trips and falls. It hurts not only his legs that took the worst of the pain, but also his arm is hurting as hell and when he tries to turn his body to look what possible can be hurting his arm like this he realizes that he's stuck in a bush. A bush full of roses and thorns. 

His sweater is stuck in the bush and is held in place by a rose thorn and he has to tug a bit to get released from it. He rips the sweater in the process but it doesn't matter he thinks as he stands up and brushes the dirt from the back of his jeans. When he looks up he's met by a pair of almost emerald green eyes.

He looks him up and down. He has a pair of skinny black jeans on (like always), except that they are tucked into a pair of hunter green wellies instead of black boots this time. He also has one of those shirts on that makes him look as rich as he is. He's showing more of his cleavage (wow) than he should get away with, but Louis thinks it's okay. Mostly because the shirt is kind of sheer to begin with so he wouldn't leave anything to the imagination even if he had all of the buttons done and also because he is one who actually can pull off a sheer, beige-pink(whatever) floral shirt and still look hot as hell. But well, Louis would never tell him that. 

Part from the other clothes he aslo has a pair of gardening gloves on his hands and a gardening clipper in right hand and in the other hand a basket full of thick, red, beautiful roses. The kinds with petals that are red as blood, stalk and leaf the perfect shade of dartmouth green, but thorns sharp enough to betray the one that gets to close. 

He is startled at first, clasps his heart and takes a deep breath in surprise. 

"Right in time, I see." Harry says and gives him a grin that would charm only the weak. But Louis's not weak, absoluetly not. 

"Yeah." Louis answers after he has calmed down enough to make his mouth move. "Did you think I would chicken out?" 

Harry doesn't answer. Instead he has a deep frown on his face and is studying his arm. 

"Fuck, you're bleeding." He says, bites his bottom lip and looks insanely aroused. 

He has a kink, Louis thinks and makes a mental note. Not that it's making it into the essay. 

"Do I?" 

"Yeah... So much. It's just... It's dripping." Harry answers and licks his lips. Louis is almost disgusted by how easily Harry could get turned on by something like blood. It's also kind of hot. Harry's eyes are all blown up and stuff and he's starting to get closer to Louis and Louis gets the urge to close his eyes as Harry's finger tips brushes Louis' arm right over the wound. 

His fingers are so cold that it makes Louis shiver and pull his arm away from the touch. Harry shakes his head and his pupils goes back to normal size by the click of a pair of fingers. 

"Um.. follow me." Harry says into the fingers that are now covering his mouth. He turns his head from Louis and starts to walk towards the big house, castle, that are a bit away from the rose bushes, just above a small little hill.

He's walking fast so it's hard for Louis to keep up with him and also, Harry has long legs, much longer than Louis'.

"You know it's okay to have a kink." Louis says and Harry makes an abrupt stop, making Louis almost trip over his own legs as he stops too. 

"A kink?" He says and frowns at Louis. He looks kind of angry and Louis eyes the gardening clipper that is now in line with Louis' chest.

"Um.. Well, I just mean it's nothing to be ashamed over." He stammers out as he carefully takes the clipper out of Harry's hand and puts it in the basket, careful not to mash any roses. 

"It's not a kink." Harry warns him. Then he starts to walk again. 

"Yeah whatever you say. Just remember, like I said, s'nothing to be ashamed over." Louis says again and he knows he's testing the boundaries, but it's kind of fun. And maybe it's the only way to get things out of Harry. To make him angry and upset. 

-

They stop in front of the big house. Wow, is all Louis thinks. He can't wait to see the inside of it. But apparently so can Harry. 

"Um. wait here. I'll be right back." He says with a frown as if he's not sure about what to do. And then he disappears inside the house before giving Louis a last warning not to move out of his spot. 

Louis stands there awkwardly, swinging back and forth with his arms as he takes in the surroundings. He inspects the house, taking a few steps back to get a wider and better look at it. 

The walls are made of white brick that's looking old but new at the same time. Crumbling in some corners and slowly falling apart, give it at least 100 more years, but the stone bricks look clean for belong to an old house like this. Some ivy is fighting its way up the walls. Someone had been there trying to tear most of it down but left some to decorations or whatever purpose. 

the windows are tall and would be a great source of light if it wasn't for the thick red curtains covering them from the inside. Louis sighs. It seems like he won't see the inside of this house after all. 

He hears the door open and then shut close again and he looks to see Harry coming out of the same door he went in. He has some supplies in his hands and he nods for Louis to follow him. 

They round a corner of the house and Harry leads them towards a gazebo in white. The stripped paint reveals how old it must be. 

They sit down in the two only chairs and Harry lays the supplies on the table in front of them. There are cotton rounds (Harry actually has those in his house?), polysporin and some plasters. 

"Could you maybe- wash it yourself?" Harry asks and he's actually using a kind tone despite the fact that he looks utterly disgusted and afflicted. Okay so maybe it's not a kink but rather a phobia? 

"Yeah sure." Louis replies as he starts to wet a cotton round with polysporin. It stings as hell when he rubs it against his wound and he bites the inside of his cheeks to avoid gasping or something else that could come out sounding a bit sexual. 

He didn't actually realize how much he was bleeding until he looks at the cotton that is now not longer white, but completely covered in red blood. So it takes a bit of cotton and polysporin to wash the blood away and also to get it to stop bleeding. 

"Can you maybe help me put on a plaster. I can't reach it." Louis asks in with a careful voice. 

"Yeah." Harry replies and picks up a plaster and peels of the plastic to reveal the sticky on the plaster and then he puts it straight and firmly against Louis' wound while looking a bit nervous. 

"Thanks." Louis says when Harry's done and he finally feel like he can breathe again. 

"Alright, so I guess it's my turn to get to know you this time? Huh?" Harry asks and he's back in that nonchalant style of his, a bit of mocking in his tone. He's eyeing the blood-drenched cotton that is lying on the table. 

"Yes, that was- I can throw those away if they are distracting you?" He says because he's getting distracted by Harry getting distracted. 

Harry shakes his head and looks at Louis instead. "No, I'll manage." He says with a small smile that doesn't reach his eyes and Louis can see in the corner of his eye how Harry clenches his fist that is resting on his thigh until the knuckles goes white. Wow. 

Harry Styles has a fetish, or a phobia, maybe both. Maybe he's scared of his fetish. Or maybe he has a fetish of being scared by things? Maybe he's trying to face his fears. Maybe he's trying hard to overcome his fear? 

"Hey!" Harry snaps and Louis shakes himself out of it. 

"What?" 

"Where did you go?" Harry frowns. "Are you on drugs or something?"

"What? No!" Louis declares. 

Harry grins but shrugs as he settles back in his chair. 

"Okay, okay. I believe you, lost boy. You live up to your name." 

Louis shakes his head and lets out a small sigh at the same time. "Let's just get to the questions." He says and settles back just like Harry. 

Harry just stares at him with an amused look as he fishes up a packet of cigarettes from his back pocket and puts one in his mouth. "Want one?" He asks, voice a bit muffled from being closed around the cig. 

Louis shakes his head and makes a disgusted face. "No, thanks. I don't wanna kill myself." 

Harry shrugs and lits his. Louis studies him, looks him up and down. He notices how nice his face actually is. A creamy, pale face that makes a nice contrast against his almost red, plumpy lips that are holding the cigarette in place. His eyes are lowered to focus on his lighter and a hand with long, slender fingers with some rings on is cupping around the lighter. 

"So." He says as his cigarette is lit. He takes a deep drag and looks up a bit, eyes too green to be real. Louis wouldn't be surprised if it turned out he wore contacts. "What do you wanna be asked?" 

Louis frowns. Is he kidding? 

"You can't ask me that? It's up to you what you want to know about me. I'm not the one writing the essay about me, I have enough with writing about you already." 

Harry throws his head back and groans. "Aaah, it's just. You are so boring. There's nothing interesting about you." 

"Excuse me?" Louis says, clearly offended. He's now sitting straight up, ready to slap Harry in the face if he needs to. 

Harry looks at him with a blank face, tired eyes. It looks bad on his usual pretty features.

"The only thing worth knowing about you is that you are lost 97 percent of the time. But that's boring. Who wants to read an entire essay about someone being lost and boring?" 

"You have got to be kidding me." Louis says. Upset. Harry rolls his eyes and blows out smoke in Louis' direction. 

"Unfortunately, I am not." He says with a sigh. "I have lived for so long now, so I know your type quite well. I have seen a lot during my years, you should know. I could probably write that essay in half an hour from only guessing, and I would be right about everything, trust me." 

Louis starts to laugh. Cheerful sounds are escaping his throath as he throws his head back. When he's finished, he has tears in his eyes that he has to wipe away with the back of his hand. 

"You think you are so much better than anyone else. Jesus christ. I could laugh again but that's only wasting of time." Louis says. "You have lived just as many years as I have, or maybe one or two more, I have no idea. But I am pretty sure that all the things you just said are nothing else but fantasies. I could assure you that I have seen more of the world than you have. I have moved a lot. I have even lived in different countries." 

Harry is looking smug, smiling around his cigarette as he takes a last drag on it and flips it away to die somewhere in the grass. He leans forward and looks Louis straight into his eyes.

"You have no idea. No idea at all." He says and then he stands up and leaves. 

"Where are you going?" Louis shouts after him, starting to walk after him, trying to be fast in his steps. 

Harry doesn't answer, nor does he stop walking. In fact he's just walking faster. 

Louis is almost beside him but then Harry is at the front door of the house and Louis has no chance to even think about catch up to his side when he suddenly disappears into the house and slams the door behind him, in Louis' face. 

What the actual fuck? Who does that? What did Louis even say. He said nothing! If there's someone that should be upset that would be Louis.

He clenches his fists in anger and breathes hard through his nose. It's not long until he will burst and throw some rocks through the windows, crashing them. 

But he can't afford paying for someone's expensive windows and nor does he feel like it, so instead he turns on his heels and starts walking towards the woods, away from the house. 

He's walking with angry and fast steps and he has his arms thrown around his body and he can imagine that he looks like a four years old getting angry over something stupid. 

When he reaches the hill that will take him slightly downwards, he hears someone whistling. Not the cat-call whistle but more of the "hey lad, come over here" style. He wants to continue walking but his body reacts faster than his brain and he stops and turns around. 

Harry is leaning against the door post of the big wooden doors a bit away and he's chewing on an apple, and of course he makes it look nothing but attractive. He has that effect on people. He can dazzle them till they become week in their knees, almost falling over. 

Louis is stronger than that though. He would rather cement his feet to the ground than to fall over because of Harry's stupid tendency to have the right twinkle in his eye. 

"What?" Louis asks, a bit harsh and loud maybe.

"No need to yell, lost boy." Harry says and takes another big bite of his apple. "Do you wanna come over?" He asks, words a bit muffled by being stuffed with apple. 

Louis rolls his eyes. This will not be easy at all. He has never ever in his life met a stranger person than Harry. 

"You literally just ran away from me." Louis replies. 

Harry grins. "A boy can change his mind, can't he?" 

Louis stands still, face glowering with boredom and a bit of annoyance. 

"I forgive you." He says and swallows down a piece of apple, and even though he's some metres away, Louis sees some apple juice running down Harry's chin that his tounge is quick to lick away. "You insulted me a bit back the in the gazebo, but it's okay. You are forgiven." He tosses the apple away before giving Louis a nod. 

"What?! I insulted you?" Louis almost shouts. "You don't think it was you that insulted me?" 

Harry shrugs. "Nah, I was just honest. You need to be able to handle some critic." 

"You are ridiculous." Louis says as he shakes his head and turns around to walk home and call Niall. 

"Alright, see you in school then!" He hears Harry shout after him. He ignores it and continues to walk fast. 

-

Niall laughs at him. He laughs hard and long at him through the phone. Louis conciders hanging up. 

"It's not that funny, Niall." He sighs. 

"Sorry but-" Niall starts but has to take a break to laugh again. "This is much better than I expected. He just walked away from you and you ran after him-" More laughter. "And then he asked you if you wanted to hang out. And you were already there. Ready to leave!" 

Louis rolls his eyes and lets Niall finish his next laugh. 

"Have you quite finished?" He asks when he thinks it's enough. 

"Yeah, yeah I've finished. But do you know what I meant when I said he was weird, do you now?" 

"You can bet'ya ass I do. I think I'm going to talk to Mr. Levitt on monday, ask if I can change my partner." 

"No chance that he's gonna agree on that." Niall says with surety. 

-

Niall's right. 

Louis is standing by Mr. Levitt's desk, where he is sat down, shaking his head. 

"No, Louis. I am afraid you have to live with it. Also it's part of the assignment and the fun in it, to not know anything about your partner, don't you think? The purpose of this assignment is to learn to know them." 

Louis sighs. "Yeah I guess. It's just.. He's hopeless. He doesn't want to cooperate, I have only asked him like, the most basic questions that are too boring to even consider including in the essay, and he hasn't asked me one thing. He said I was boring." 

"Well.." Mr. Levitt starts. "Then you have three weeks to show him wrong. He has to write something eventually, right? So it's his loss if he's decided not to ask you any questions. Focus on getting to know him, okay?" He says with a small smile. 

Louis nods, about to turn back to his desk when Levitt stops him. 

"And Louis. I know what you mean." He says so only Louis can hear. "I understand he can be a bit hard to deal with. But to me it sounds like you already have some stuff to your essay. The goal isn't to hang out with the person until you finally maybe get some sides out of them that you considering good. They can be hard to find in some people, so don't put your hopes up too high." 

Louis nods and gives Mr. Levitt a small smile in return and walks back to his bench. 

He passes a giggling Niall that has probably listened in on the conversation. He only rolls his eyes at it.

Back at his bench sits Harry with a smug grin on his face. 

"Heard you wanted to change partner." Harry leans in and whispers as Louis has sat down. 

No way he heard that? Both Levitt and Louis kept it low and Harry was sat in the back of the classroom. There's no chance he heard that. 

"I know what you're thinking. 'How the fuck did he hear us?" Harry adds, still the same grin on his face. 

"But it's okay. I only think it's fair since I insulted you last saturday." 

Louis scoffs. "Oh, so you can admit that now?" 

Harry nods. "Yeah I guess." He says, holding his hand out for Louis to shake. "Are we even now?" 

Louis eyes his hand and then turns his gaze up to Harry's face. He has an hopeful look on his face.   
He sighs and shakes his head and tries not to punch the proud off Harry's face. He thinks he's doing the world such a big favour, probably. 

"So- I prepared some questions to ask you." Harry says and opens his notepad. He actually has an notepad and Louis is surprised by the sudden urge to cooperate. He literally went from running away from Louis to open a notepad with prepared questions. Who is this boy?

Louis nods. "Alright, shoot." 

Harry nods. "Uhm-" He reads from his notepad. "What is your favourite colour?" 

"Blue, I guess. Marin blue." 

"Nice, mine's red." Harry says proudly. 

"Yeah I know. I remember asking you that." Louis replies. 

"Right." He says and skims his notepad again. "Favourite band?" 

"The Fray." Louis replies fast because he's very sure about it. 

"Why?" Harry asks. 

"Why I like them?" Harry nods. "Well, I like their lyrics and-"

"So you're a lyrics type then." Harry interupts. "That can tell a lot about a person." 

"Can it?" Louis frowns. 

Harry nods. He seems pretty sure about himself. At least this side of Harry is much nicer than the others that Louis has been met by.

"What are the lyrics about? Love?" 

Louis nods. "Mhm, mostly." 

Harry smiles. "I also like listening to lyrics. Only that in my songs they sing about sex and drugs and stuff. Love is stupid." 

"Oookay." Louis replies. 

Harry continues with the questions. They reminds him a lot about the questions he asked Harry last week. Only that Louis somewhere in the middle of the question time, glances at Harry's notepad. Not only isn't he taking any notes on Louis' answers but there are aso no questions. The paper is completely blank. Harry lied about having prepared questions. It makes Louis smile a bit and something flips around in his belly. He decides to ignore it since he doesn't know what it is. 

He guess he's just happy that Harry finally seems a bit normal for once. 

The bell rings and Harry has asked a bunch of questions. What concerns Louis though is that he haven't taken any notes and Louis can only wonder how in the world he will remember all those things Louis has said. 

"Did you make mental notes?" Louis asks Harry as he gathers his stuff. 

"Yep." He says with a nod and a tap of his finger against his head. "My memory is brilliant." 

Louis smiles. "I hope so." 

Harry scurries away without a second glanze back. This time it's totally okay though. More than okay. Harry talked more than Louis could have ever guessed he would. He actually asked him reasonable questions and everything was taken from his mind in the moment. Louis has to admit that he's quick. 

He's the last one out of the classroom and Mr. Levitt smiles at him as he drags the ereaser over the whiteboard. 

"So I guess he's not that dumb then, huh?" He asks Louis. 

"No, suprisingly not. He asked me a lot of questions today. It's progress." Louis replies.

"Just give it time, Louis. Sooner or later you will know more than his favourite colour is or what he likes to read." 

"Yeah, I hope so. See you on wednesday." Louis says and disappears out the classroom after have given Mr. Levitt a wave goodbye. 

Maybe he can get used to Harry if he's like this, after all. Louis thinks.

-


End file.
